Organizational inertia is often a phenomenon of “contentment lying flat” in the process of enterprise growth, which has a negative impact on enterprise development, reform, innovation and performance. This research holds that organizational inertia mainly stems from factors such as successful satisfaction of organizational members and mode dependence, which can be overcome by changing cognition and management reengineering. Although some studies have focused on the cultural factors behind the formation of organizational inertia, there is still a lack of in-depth research on the relationship between Chinese cultural psychological factors (such as contentment and face) and organizational inertia, and there is also a lack of discussion on the practical experience of local enterprises. Based on the process theory and grounded theoretical method, through the exploratory analysis of the case materials of Y Company, this paper explores the relationship between the psychological mechanisms of “contentment” and “face” culture and organizational inertia. Results show that organizational inertia is an unavoidable state for enterprises driven by the “contentment” mentality, but the “face” incentive in the context of Chinese culture is a potential psychological mechanism to overcome organizational inertia, and the reform in strategy, organization and cultural aspects are important mechanisms to overcome organizational inertia. This study explains organizational inertia from the Chinese cultural elements of “contentment and face”, which enriches the existing research on organizational inertia, and is also conducive to understanding and helping the growth of local enterprises rooted in the network society of acquaintances.